Patriot Day Flags to half staff

Today is the anniversary of 9-11. Proper flag etiquette calls American flags to half staff from sunrise to sunset.
Many a young person heeded the call from this tragic event to serve in the military, my son included.
As some of you read, I recently got my shorts in a wad when I saw an American flag at the Indiana State Fair mounted on a tractor with the diesel smoke blowing through the fabric sooting it badly....the driver was approached and acted much like a selfish jerk when it was explained to him of his flag desecration . I reported to this forum and some of you think that it's just a piece of fabric, and that I am a "busy body",then I shall pray for you the most.
Please remember what this day means, what you were doing and where you were when you learned of the 4 airplanes that were hijacked.
To those who served in the military, Thank You

and thank you for taking the correct stand

Thanx ..... what is the proper Way to display the Flag ,that is side mounted 45degrees on a Porch post ?,, would it be more approprite to drape straight off the porch beam ?...OBSERVATION . Except for PROBLEMS That He has caused FROM WITHIN Our Borders , does everyone realise the current administration has gone nearly 9 monthes without any outside catastrophe ? ... I guess our enemies are thinkin' we are on Self -distruct Course and theyare saving energy.....

I am with you on proper flag etiquette. My father was in Vietnam, my great Uncle in Korea, my grandfather in WWII. I take my flag in and out everyday and if I know I will be home past dark, I leave a light on to make sure it is lit. I have a few neighbors who leave theirs out year round, torn and tattered, no lights at night. I just bought a house in a new area and one of my new neighbors observed my daily ritual of bringing the flag in and out and asked me about it. He did not know that flags were supposed to be lit if left out over night. When asked why I cared so much, I informed him how my Father has two Purple Hearts, a bronze star and my pride in his sacrifices so that he and I could have the right to complain about the "current administration". The flag stands for anyones sacrifice to get us as a country to where we are today right or wrong. If you can't treat it with respect, move back to where your ancestors came from and try it there for a while.

Thank You for the reminder.

Flag Etiquote is important to US . Yes , Lets continue the fight for this Country ... DuringWW2 , Dad Was in South Pacific Fighting To take one beach After Another with Amphibious Tanks ,,, He passed on Last Aug . And I miss him Coming here to fish and look over the farm with me ,, His Eulogy is about 30 sories down in Your Stories to the Left .. He sure was a dandy...

I wonder how many know that if the flag is to be flown at half staff or mast, that it is raised to the top before being lowered to half, and that it is raised to the top again before being lowered at the end of the day?

September 11 has a dual meaning for me. Obviously, 9/11/01 is one.

Also, September 11, 1958 was the day Chairman Mao of Red China proclaimed any U.S. Marines still on Taiwan were going to die on Taiwan. He obviously didn't get the job done. I was a member of that group.

I considered it an honor to be able to serve this great country in uniform for ten years, and it pains me to see what the country is going through today because of this dork we wound up with for a president.

while i understand and appreciate the lowering of OUR flag to half staff today, i personally believe it should be flown full staff, proudly and undefeated. sad times when its inappropriate for our kids/grandkids to watch a president of the USA on TV and just as sad when i refuse to watch him also. I have No respect for or trust in this person that is known as president. cannot imagine what else would have happened if he had been pres on 9-11. and yes, i did serve in the military.

Thank you for taking a stand. My ancestors Have served in every War since this country began. SO DON'T TREAD ON MY FLAG .

Its sad that our youth are not taught to care for the flag, both in their hearts and actual, proper care. James' and I have shared this story before, but it bears retelling.

Last Sept. after I broke my wrist, we were in Walmart to get a prescription filled. While standing at the counter, we noticed an 8x10 stick flag in the trash. We were both appalled.

There were a couple of young people behind the counter. I asked if I could have the flag. They looked at me like I was crazy, but said yes.

I stepped behind the counter and retrieved the flag. I turned to them and said "the American flag never belongs in the trash". Neither of them had a clue.

This flag is now proudly displayed on the inside of the back window of James' truck.

Before 9-11, I frequently displayed our flag at home. After 9-11, I purchased several dozen small 4x6 stick flags and posted them on the fence posts around the pasture. I continue to do this, replacing them when they become tattered, and will continue to display them as long as we are there. (Since there are street lights around our place in Dallas, the flags do have light.)

Here's another story for you. One morning as I walked up to the building where I work, I noticed our school nurse, Ken, and some students lowering and taking the flag off the halyard.

I went over to see if he needed help. Ken said he had been walking down the outside hall and saw the flag had been raised upside down. He said "as a retired Navy Lt. Col., I couldn't leave it like that."

The young man that he had asked to help, didn't have a clue. I asked the young man if he knew what flying the flag upside down meant. Of course, he didn't. I told him flying the flag upside down was a distress signal.

Even as bad as we think things are in this country, its still the greatest, freest country on earth and we still have many, many people who are willing to lay down their lives to keep it that way.

GOD BLESS AMERICA, LAND THAT I LOVE. (I'm sure all of you do too.)

Its sad that our youth are not taught to care for the flag, both in their hearts and actual, proper care. James' and I have shared this story before, but it bears retelling.

Last Sept. after I broke my wrist, we were in Walmart to get a prescription filled. While standing at the counter, we noticed an 8x10 stick flag in the trash. We were both appalled.

There were a couple of young people behind the counter. I asked if I could have the flag. They looked at me like I was crazy, but said yes.

I stepped behind the counter and retrieved the flag. I turned to them and said "the American flag never belongs in the trash". Neither of them had a clue.

This flag is now proudly displayed on the inside of the back window of James' truck.

Before 9-11, I frequently displayed our flag at home. After 9-11, I purchased several dozen small 4x6 stick flags and posted them on the fence posts around the pasture. I continue to do this, replacing them when they become tattered, and will continue to display them as long as we are there. (Since there are street lights around our place in Dallas, the flags do have light.)

Here's another story for you. One morning as I walked up to the building where I work, I noticed our school nurse, Ken, and some students lowering and taking the flag off the halyard.

I went over to see if he needed help. Ken said he had been walking down the outside hall and saw the flag had been raised upside down. He said "as a retired Navy Lt. Col., I couldn't leave it like that."

The young man that he had asked to help, didn't have a clue. I asked the young man if he knew what flying the flag upside down meant. Of course, he didn't. I told him flying the flag upside down was a distress signal.

Even as bad as we think things are in this country, its still the greatest, freest country on earth and we still have many, many people who are willing to lay down their lives to keep it that way.

GOD BLESS AMERICA, LAND THAT I LOVE. (I'm sure all of you do too.)

I neglected to expound a bit.

I remember 9/11/01 well. I was working for an insurance company, and at 0800 I'd just sat down at my desk and took a phone call from an auto repair shop in Brooklyn, NY. During our discussion of business, shouting broke out in the background. Info started coming through about the World Trade Centers being hit.

Then the info about the Pentagon. Our daughter was, at the time, Multi-Media Manager for a Borders book store in Pentagon City, three blocks from the Pentagon. I tried calling Borders and was met with total silence. A half hour later, I began getting a busy signal. A half hour after that, I got through to the switchboard. The operator told me Corporate had ordered them to shut down, and since Amy lived in the District and traffic was at a standstill, Amy had simply walked home with a co-worker who lived within walking distance. Amy finally got a call through to me about noon.

Thank you for your service to our country. It is not something to be taken lightly. However, the tractor driver was simply not thinking, perhaps not capable of thinking, and probably meant no harm while using the flag as a decoration. He was wrong to treat the flag of our country that way but you have to pick your fights carefully.

I recall on a visit to England a few years back, we were joined by a friend and her parents for a couple of days. I looked out the window the B&B one morning and see our friend's father hauling down the Union Jack and then running it back up. Same thing. I didn't know it but there is a top and bottom to the Union Jack. Alec did his service in India before and through WWII, and he couldn't stand to see it upside down, either.

I'll take a different view. The man driving the tractor was making a statement about his patriotism by including the flag on his tractor. While it may not have been in the best environment I'm still proud he chose to fly the flag in what he intended to be a loyal display. I flag the flag proudly on my farm and will not criticize someone for flying the flag unless I know their intentions are disloyal. I don't think his were. Bill, Vietnam 71-72, 105 artilley unit.

There is a youtube of the tractor in 2008 "Indiana State Fair" tractor parade 2008 it's a 7 minute 46 second video, but you can see what I'm talking about in the first 13 seconds of watching it( it's the lead tractor and has 2 American flags mounted at mid-point the frame rails, the left or clutch side flag shows soot) the video explains it all.
Thank you for serving in the military, sir!

Today will be a tough day for a lot of folks; a lot of innocent people died that day.

This was sent to me in an email message by a co-worker; just passing it on.

<big>[b:654c4848f0][i:654c4848f0]The Budweiser Story (not a joke).

This is TRUE!

How Budweiser handled those who laughed at those who died on the 11th of September, 2001.

Thought you might like to know what happened in a little town north of Bakersfield, California.

After you finish reading this, please forward this story on to others so that our nation and people around the world will know about those who laughed when they found out about the tragic events in New York, Pennsylvania, and the Pentagon.

On September 11th, a Budweiser employee was making a delivery to a convenience store in a California town named McFarland.

He knew of the tragedy that had occurred in New York when he entered the business to find the two Arabs, who owned the business, whooping and hollering to show their approval and support of this treacherous attack.

The Budweiser employee went to his truck, called his boss and told him of the very upsetting event!

He didn't feel he could be in that store with those horrible people.

His boss asked him, "Do you think you could go in there long enough to pull every Budweiser product and item our beverage company sells there? We'll never deliver to them again."

The employee walked in, proceeded to pull every single product his beverage company provided and left with an incredible grin on his face.

He told them never to bother to call for a delivery again.

Budweiser happens to be the beer of choice for that community.

Just letting you know how Kern County handled this situation.

And Now The Rest Of The Story:

It seems that the Bud driver and the Pepsi man are neighbors. Bud called Pepsi and told him.

Pepsi called his boss who told him to pull all Pepsi products as well!!!

That would include Frito Lay, etc.

Furthermore, word spread and all vendors followed suit! At last report, on June 26, 2009, Fareed Katib closed the store and filed bankruptcy!

Good old American Passive-Aggressive A$$ Whoopin!

America needs to know that we're all working together!

If you can read this, thank a teacher.

If you are reading it in English,THANK A SOLDIER![/i:654c4848f0][/b:654c4848f0]</big>

I too fly our flag 24/7 it is well lighted and no one out there respects it more than me. My father was in WW2 my uncle went in at Omaha and my father in law at Normandy. I served 4 years in the Army Infantry as a Officer one year of which was Viet Nam. I will never never forget 9-11 or let my children or grand children forget. But I will fly my flag at half mast everyday until our solders come home. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for serving.

What a wonderfull story, you have made my day!

Tom

A few years ago, an indignant neighbor wrote to our local paper, wondering who could stoop so low as to steal her flag. It was at a makeshift roadside memorial she set up, after her party, where two friends got drunk, drove off the junction next to one of our farms, and one was killed, the other paralyzed. Next week, my letter appeared. I said I stopped, and yes, I stooped, to retrieve the flag from the mud it was in, courtesy of its cheap Chinese standard, after a wind and rain storm. It is under cover, protected from the elements, in our garage, and awaiting her retrieval. Still there, about 4 years later! Local editor also printed a narrative I provided him from an Army Captain at Ft. Campbell, KY, home of the 101st Airborne Division. Captain was perturbed to see a Private snarl traffic during a rainstorm, to run across a field..., until he realized the Private"s mission-to set right one of the small flags honoring six service members killed in a training accident. Came to, saluted, and marched crisply back to his car, soaking wet. Captain said he learned an awful lot from a private that day! Anyone wanting to learn about flag respect should read John McCain"s book, and the story of a fellow captive, beaten to no end for making a flag, then starting to make another when the swelling in his eyes allowed him to see a bit again.

I will call BS on this internet myth...it took 8 years for no product delivery to drive these reported scum out of business???? Reality, it would have taken months...weeks.... Nice parable and uplifting story but I would need factual documents to support legitimacy before i could believe it.

not to mention, sadly, the ACLU would have sued Bud and Pepco etc to the end of the earth. THat is the disgusting world we live in.

It's a hoax, and a racist one to boot.

Someone told me a long time ago, if a story starts out "This is true!", you can be certain it isn't.
Snopes on the Budweiser hoax